Vinyl Sign Jotters

Leslie Herger of Comfortable Shoes Studio upcycles colorful and funky vinyl signs into one-of-a-kind covers for her delightful — and very reasonably priced — handmade jotter notebooks. She gets her sign vinyl from a grocery store chain where she works her day job and says that businesses are typcally more than happy to give away the signs.

“I’ve found that many places are really interested in getting it out of their dumpsters,” Leslie tells me. “For the stores and chains it’s not about recycling so much as it is about their bottom line — they have to pay to have their trash hauled away. Every pound counts toward their fees.”

Leslie suggests approaching the manager of a McDonald’s or a mall, or you can read more of her suggestions — along with her writings — at her blog, comfortableshoesstudio.blogspot.com. Purchase her jotters, notebooks and other handmade goodies at her Etsy store.